The Accident
by 2originalcents
Summary: Nothing like a life-threatening accident to make Cartman realize what's important to him.
1. Chapter 1

**So I'm a senior in college now and this is my last foreseeable winter break and as I'm sure you guys have been able to tell by now, I am taking full advantage of it, haha.**

**So this particular fic has two versions: this one, and a much darker one. Maybe one day I'll write out the darker one, maybe.**

**(Uh, there's swearing in here later on, and idk I might write an M ch later too so rated M just in case).**

**Until then, enjoy, I own nothing, and reviews are nice!**

Cartman was growing annoyed. He had sent Butters a facebook message in the morning, it was evening now and still no response. What was that little shit doing all day? He usually response quickly. At the very least he'll respond with a 'I'll get back to you later' if he's busy. Eric was composing a text to Butters when there was a knock on his door.

"Honey?" Liane popped her head in. She stepped into his room and looked upset.

"What is it, mom?" Eric asked, putting his phone down.

"I just got off the phone with Linda-"

"Butters' mom?" He interrupted.

"Yes, and it seems Butters got into an accident earlier today-"

"Is he okay?" Again he interrupted.

Liane looked down and shook her head. "He's in the hospital."

Quickly Cartman got up and headed out his room.

"Where are you going?" Liane walked after him.

"To see him," he answered, putting on his jacket and heading out to his truck.

. . . . .

Eric felt like the rug had been pulled from under him when he saw Butters laying there on the hospital bed.

Butters was unconscious. He had bandages wrapped around his head; both legs, torso, and his right arm were in casts; he was hooked up to different machines and ivs; and there was a large plastic tube going into his mouth.

Linda had been in the waiting room crying when Eric arrived. She explained to him that Butters and his dad were in a car accident, their car had been t-boned. Stephen's injuries were mild, he would be discharged that night; Butters had taken the brunt of the impact.

Cartman just stood there, not sure what to do. He took a step forward and was next to Butters bed. He lifted his arm and lightly touched the back of Butters' left hand with his fingertips.

Eric grabbed the chair besides the bed and pulled it forward. He continued running his fingertips up and down the back of Butters' hand for what felt like hours.

A knock on the door made Cartman jump, Butters' mom walked in and he immediately dropped his hand.

"It's getting late, you should go home," she told him, walking up to the bed.

Cartman looked at her and then back at Butters. "He hasn't woken up yet," he whispered.

"He probably won't for a while," Linda confessed, tears in her eyes.

Eric bit his lip, but didn't say anything. He got up, told Linda he would be back tomorrow after school, and left.


	2. Chapter 2

**Enjoy, reviews are nice, I own nothing.**

Cartman went back to the hospital right after school. Again, he just sat next to Butters, but after an hour he was asked to leave by the doctor. They needed to run some tests, so Eric stepped out into the waiting room and sat down next to a vending machine. He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in his lap.

"Cartman?"

Eric looked up to see Stan, Kyle, and Kenny standing over him.

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked.

"The doctors were running tests and I needed to leave the room," he answered dully.

"Dude, didn't you come here straight from school? You've been here a long time." Stan said.

Cartman didn't respond to that.

"I think the room's clear, we should go," Kenny said, looking down the hall.

The three made to leave but Kyle turned back and saw Eric bury his face into his lap again.

"Don't you want to go back in?" He asked Eric.

"I'll go back when you guys leave," Cartman answered without lifting his head.

Kyle let it go and went to see his friend.

. . . . .

The rest of the month went on like that. Everyday after school Eric drove straight to the hospital and stayed by Butters side until midnight; other friends would come and go and he would step out accordingly. This schedule worked out well, he and Butters' parents were able to rest with this switch off. Linda had sworn to Eric that she would tell him if Butters woke up while she was watching him, and Cartman swore the same to her. On weekends they would just keep with their schedule. Cartman would sleep in late on weekends so he woke closer to when he had to leave to see Butters, waking up early and waiting the time to pass would be unbearable otherwise.

Liane was worried for her son. She hardly saw him and when she did he didn't speak. She would occasionally work herself up in the evening and be determined to forbid Eric from staying at the hospital for so long, but every night when her son would come home, the look on his face kept her mouth shut. Instead, Liane would pack Eric dinner as well as a lunch so he could eat at the hospital, and if that wasn't possible she would give him extra money to buy a meal.

Surprisingly, Eric's grades were showing some improvement during this month. There wasn't much he could do, or rather wanted to do, at the hospital aside from homework. And when he had reading assignments he read out loud, maybe Butters would hear him.

Butters' oxygen tube was removed after the second week, and his head bandages after the third. These achievements kept Cartman vigilant, Butters' body was healing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Enjoy, reviews are nice, I own nothing.**

Halfway through the second month of waiting Eric got a text during second period. It was from Linda and all it said was "He's awake."

Cartman wanted to run out of class, to get into his truck and drive to the hospital, but he stayed put. He was sure everyone was fussing over Butters right now, he would wait and go during his time. Cartman was sure Butters wouldn't go back to sleep again. He knew all Butters needed to do was wake up and everything after that would be okay.

Eric sped off to the hospital after school. He arrived to Butters' room to find it empty.

"Butters' was moved. He's on the fourth floor now," the nurse who was fixing up the room told Eric. Almost all the nurses on the ninth floor knew him and why he was there.

"Thanks," Eric said quickly, heading off.

From outside the door Cartman could see Butters sitting up. There was a food tray in front of him and he was alone.

Cartman opened the door and stepped in. Butters turned to see who was coming in and his face lit up when he saw who it was.

"Eric!" Butters said cheerily.

"Hey," Eric said cautiously.

Butters motioned him to come closer and attempted to give Eric a hug, though his cast arm made the gesture a bit awkward.

"I'm really glad you're here," Butters said when he let go. He was following Eric with his eyes as the brunette pulled forward a chair and sat down. "My mom told me you were here everyday. I don't know how I'll ever repay you for that. Thank you."

Cartman felt uncomfortable, he didn't know what to say. He shook his head. "Well, I didn't get you flowers or some shit like that so whatever," he said, eyeing the flowers on the table next to the bed. He should have brought flowers.

Butters laughed. "Who cares about flowers, Eric?"

The blond went back to his food. He had finished the made dish and was attempting to open the jello cup, but it was proving to be difficult with his hand in the cast.

Eric reached over and opened it for him. He held it down in place so it wouldn't move with Butters' spoon.

"Do you want some?" Butters offered bashfully.

Cartman shook his head.

"What's wrong?" Butters asked, eating a spoonful of his dessert.

"Nothing," Eric answered. "I'm glad you're awake."

"Me too. My mom said I was in a coma for a month and a half."

"And you're fine, you don't have…?" Eric trailed off but pointed at his head.

"No brain damage," Butters shook his head, smiling.

"That's fucking unbelievable." Eric said, letting go of the now empty jello cup.

The two talked for half an hour longer when Cartman suddenly stood up. "I should go."

"Why?" Butters asked, fretful.

"I'll come back tomorrow, I need to go now, though," he assured Butters.

"Okay," Butters was upset, he didn't want Eric to go. "I'll see you tomorrow."

. . . . .

After that Eric would come to see Butters after school, but he would only stay half an hour or an hour at most.

A week after first waking up, when Cartman stepped into Butters room the blond was racked with sobs.

"Go away!" Butters yelled.

"What's wrong?" Cartman asked, looking around to see if Butters was hurt.

"Go away! I don't want to see anyone! Get the fuck out!" Butters roared.

"What the fuck happened, what's wrong?" Eric asked again, he could feel himself getting angry, but he tried to push it down.

"What do you mean what's wrong? What, I can't be fucking upset for one Goddamn minute that I was in a fucking accident and two months of my life were stolen!?" Butters continued to shout. "And the fucking doctors just told me I might not walk again!"

"What do you mean, I thought your spine was okay?"

"Shut the fuck up, Eric!" Butters screeched. "Why don't you fucking leave, I don't even know why you're here, why the fuck would you even stay all night when I was unconscious but you can't stay ten fucking minutes when I'm awake!?"

Cartman didn't have a response for that, but he wasn't going to let Butters just yell at him either. "I don't even fucking know why you're yelling at me, I'm not the retarded piece of shit that rammed into your fucking car! Be upset all you want but don't fucking yell at me, you fucking asshole. I hope you do fucking stay paralyzed, you fucking little-"

"GET OUT!" Butters shouted again and pointed at the door. "Fuck you! Get out!"

Cartman got out of there and left the hospital.

"FUCK!" He shouted in his car, putting his head in his trembling hands.

Butters might not walk again, and he, like the fucking stupid asshole that he is, wished paralysis on the blond. Why the fuck did he yell? Why did he even get angry? Butters was in the right, he deserved at least one day where he could just be upset and cry. And he made an excellent point, why did Eric stay with him all that time when he was in a coma but couldn't get out fast enough once he had woken up.

Well, there was no use doing anything now. Cartman started his car and headed home.

. . . . .

The next day Butters way laying in his bed watching television when Eric stepped into the room. Seeing him, the blond turned of the tv and pressed the button that would lift his bed so he was sitting up.

"I didn't think you would come today," Butters said.

"Yeah, well," Eric responded, grabbing a chair and sitting down as usual.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you," Butters continued.

Cartman chuckled. "Please Butters, if anyone should be pissed off it's you. I'm sorry I shouted back. And I definitely, definitely didn't mean what I said." He didn't even want to repeat himself.

Butters nodded, but he covered his face with his hand and Eric could hear him sob quietly.

"They told me about my legs yesterday," Butters whimpered, his face still covered. "I was just really scared and upset. Then you came in and I just took it all out on you when you've been so great this whole time."

"You're going to walk again," Cartman said. "Why wouldn't you walk again, your spine is fine, isn't that the most important thing?"

Butters wiped his eyes and shook his head. "They said the way my bones broke, they damaged my nerves, and it's not impossible, but it is unlikely that I'll walk again."

"You're going to walk again," Eric repeated. "You've been through way worst shit than this and bounced back. You're like a fucking cat."

Butters laughed at that. "I hope so."


	4. Chapter 4

**Enjoy, I own nothing, reviews are nice!**

Another three weeks passed before Butters was discharged from the hospital. All the casts had been removed by then.

A new schedule switch off emerged between Cartman and Linda. Early mornings Eric would arrive to pick Butters up and take him to school, Tuesdays and Thursdays he would drive him straight home, the other three days he would take Butters downtown to physical therapy.

"You really don't have to do this," Butters told Eric after his first week of therapy. "My mom can drive me, isn't it boring waiting an hour for me to finish?"

"If I drove you back home then we have to go through all that trouble and then your mom's going to have to speed over to downtown to make sure you get there on time. It's too much of a nuisance, driving you straight from school is so much easier."

Butters was about to say his mom could just as easily pick him up from school, but bit his tongue. Eric wanted to help, he didn't want to take that away from him.

"Well, if it doesn't bother you then I guess it's okay…" Butters said instead.

. . . . .

It was Saturday morning and they were at the park where the empty public gym equipment was set up. There were two metal poles parallel to each other and waist high, they were meant for people to lift themselves using just their upper body strength, but Eric planned on using them as crutches for Butters.

Cartman helped Butters stand and grip the poles on either side of him.

"I don't know about this, Eric," Butters said, already feeling the strain on his arms.

"Butters, I'm not going to let you fall, okay? I'm right behind you. We won't be here that long but it's good for you to practice more than just three times a week."

As Cartman said that Butters could feel him stand right behind him. The blond did feel more at ease.

"Okay, so just step one leg forward," Eric told him.

Slowly Butters moved a leg up and extended it forward. His first step of the day.

"Good, now the other one," Cartman said gently.

Butters was able to walk about three steps, Cartman walking behind him as well, before he stepped awkwardly into a hole in the ground and tripped forward. Just when he thought he was going to land face first on the concrete he felt an arm around his waist.

"It's okay, I got you," Eric said, lifting Butters back up. "Okay, we'll need to look out for that hole."

Butters blushed. Eric's arm was around him and he was leaning his back on the brunette as well. He quickly tried to right himself and stand on his own again.

The two continued on like this for half an hour before Butters complained he was getting too exhausted.

"Okay, we'll just do one last round and we'll call it a day," Eric told him, leaving his post from behind Butters and walking to stand on the other side.

"Eric?" Butters didn't like this. He felt more secure with Cartman behind him, and he needed that now that he was exhausted.

"Don't worry, I can still catch you from here, but I want you to walk towards me now."

Butters hesitated, but slowly, one step at a time, he began walking towards Eric. Reaching the end he could feel his arms and legs trembling from all the force and almost collapsed. He fell forward and Eric was able to easily grab him. Again, Butters blushed at how close he was, he had fallen right into Cartman's arms, which were wrapped protectively around him.

"That was awesome Butters! You did so much work on your own today," Eric said, easing Butters back into his chair and wheeling him towards his car.

"Thanks," Butters replied, unaccustomed to hearing praises from Cartman.

Once they reached the truck Eric carried Butters and gently put him in the front seat. When he was going to pull away Butters' grip tightened around his neck. He looked up to see what the problem was but Butters was just staring at him. They looked at each other for a moment, their faces just inches apart, before Eric leaned in and kissed Butters. The blond pulled him closer, gripping Eric's hair with his hands. After a moment longer Eric pulled away and Butters dropped his hands onto his lap. Cartman closed the door. He put Butters' wheelchair in the bed of the truck and then got in to the driver's side.

The two were silent during the car ride, and it wasn't until they passed downtown did Butters realize they weren't heading to his house. He turned to Eric, but the brunette's gaze was set on the road. Butters kept quiet, waiting to see where Cartman was taking him.


	5. Chapter 5

**I feel bad 'cause I spoiled you guys with almost two weeks of updates everyday but that's gonna slow down now. Y'know, festivities and other stuff I have to attend to.**

**Enjoy, I own nothing, Reviews are nice.**

Eric stopped the truck in an empty look out post on top of a hill.

"Eric?" Butters turned to look at Cartman and was surprised when the brunette pushed the lever that dropped the blond's seat until he was practically laying down.

The truck was roomy, and with nothing between the driver and passenger's seats Eric was able to easily push himself forward and gently position himself on top of Butters.

Butters was blushing, he didn't move or say anything, he was waiting for Eric.

Cartman leaned down and kissed Butters again. He had his elbows leaning again the shoulders of the chair and was careful not to put his whole weight on Butters. The blond, however, pushed him closer, excited to feel some heaviness on top of him.

As they made out Butters could feel moisture on his cheeks and realized Eric was crying, which caused him to kiss the brunette even harder.

Soon Eric pulled away and laid his forehead on the chair's headrest, right next to Butters' head. The two were catching their breath and Butters kept his arms around Cartman's neck.

"Sorry I never answered your facebook message, by the way," Butters said after a moment.

Cartman chuckled but it grew into a huge fit of laughter and the blond joined in. They were laughing at the ridiculousness of Butters' apology, at the absurd thing they just did, at the fear they both felt over the last few months.

Eric made his way back to his seat, still laughing. He wiped his eyes with his palm and shook his head. Everything was so fucking ridiculous.

Butters watched Eric, a small smile on his lips. Cartman was sitting so his legs were between the two seats, he leaned the side of his head on his headrest.

"That wasn't because you feel bad for me, right?" Butters asked. Eric looked at him confused so he continued. "Well, I guess not just the kisses, but everything. You weren't doing all of that because you feel sorry for me, right?"

"I don't think I'm capable of feeling sorry for another human being, Butters," Cartman explained.

He leaned over and kissed Butters one more time, lightly putting his hand on the blond's face. When he pulled away he left his hand in place, and Butters pressed his cheek into the caress.

"I didn't believe my mom at first," Butters confessed. "I thought she was just being nice, that you saw me maybe twice and she was exaggerating for my sake. But then you came that day after school, and you kept coming. And when the fellas visited Kyle told me how upset you looked while I was in that coma…"

Eric pulled his hand away from Butters. "It wasn't even a conscious decision."

"What do you mean?"

Cartman shrugged. "I just wasn't really thinking during that time. Honestly, I just thought about whatever was right in front of me, and that's it. It was like, 'now I'm awake, now I'm at school and need to do work, now school ended time to go to my car, now I have to go see Butters, now I have to eat, now I have to go to sleep.'" He listed all the items with his fingers.

"It was like that the entire time? What about when I woke up?"

"When you woke up I realized what was going on again."

Butters fixed his chair so it was sitting up right again and with help from his hands he moved his legs so they were in the space between the two seats as well.

"Thanks for taking me out today," he told Cartman. "And thanks for making sure I didn't fall."

This time Butters used both hands to cup Eric's face and leaned over to kiss him.

"I just wish it didn't take me almost dying for us to get here," he added when they pulled away.

"You know I've never been good at appreciating stuff when I have it," Eric told him.

"I guess not."


	6. Chapter 6

**Happy New Year's you guys! Sorry publishing has been so slow but y'know, life. Plus I started working on other fics and they're either no ready for publishing yet or they're more for my own gratification than sharing.**

**Either way, I need to stop putting my other fics that are being published on the wayside.**

**I hope you guys are having and continue to have a safe holiday season so you don't find yourself in Butters' predicament. **

**Anywho, enjoy, I own nothing, and reviews are nice!**

The two drove back into town quietly, Cartman's hand on Butters' lap, intertwined with the blond's hand.

Driving through town a car sped by the truck and cut Cartman off suddenly. Had Eric been driving any faster there would have been an accident, instead the brunette honked his horn and cursed the guy out from his seat.

"That's why I like driving you around everywhere," he told Butters once he calmed down and held his hand again.

"What?" Butters asked.

"If anyone else were driving, there would have been a collision back there. But if I'm driving than I have control, I know you'll be safe."

"Eric, you can't always control things like that," Butters said with a sad smile, squeezing his hand. "My dad and I were hit driving through an intersection when there was a green light, and the guy sped through even though his side was on red."

"If you're dad had just been going a little bit slower everything would have been fine," Eric insisted.

"You can't protect people from everything. Accidents happen," Butters continued, stroking the back of Eric's hand with the fingertips of his free hand.

"I understand that, Butters. But at the very least I can keep you from being in another car crash," Cartman spoke through gritted teeth.

Butters kept quiet, he didn't want to make Eric more upset.

. . . . .

Soon they arrived at Butters' house, and Cartman helped Butters into his chair.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" Butters asked as Eric wheeled him to his front door.

"Nah, it's okay, I'll just see you tomorrow," Cartman answered.

He helped Butters get through the door.

"Hello boys," Linda said, coming in from the kitchen.

"Hey Mom."

"Hey Mrs. Stotch," both answered in unison.

"Are you two hungry? I can make you something to eat."

Butters turned to look at Eric.

"No, I'm okay," Cartman answered. "I'll see you tomorrow." He leaned over a kissed the top of Butters head before walking out the door.

Linda's eyes shifted from her son to the door to her son again.

"How long has that been going on?" She asked him.

"Just today," he answered, wheeling himself to the kitchen to break the awkwardness.

"It's about time," she whispered under her breath following her son.


End file.
